The Band Perry comes in second

Pioneer

Sports fans may be familiar with the term "sophomore slump," where a player has an excellent rookie season, but then struggles mightily in his second. With "Pioneer," The Band Perry demonstrates that the phrase can carry over to the music world as well. Where the group's debut was quirky and showed real potential, their second release takes some artistic steps backwards while developing a more mainstream sound. The lead single and opening track, Better Dig Two, also ...

The Band Perry (full length CD)

Image-wise, the siblings of The Band Perry are aiming squarely at the youth market. Sister and lead singer Kimberly has a Taylor Swift thing going on, with big curly blonde hair, while brothers Neil and Reid could be Jonases as easily as Perrys. Their musical style trends young, as well. There's an element of bluegrass in the music, but it's often more of a grace note on top of the pop-rock guitars and drums that remain the focus of the album. Lyrically, the songs also offer a ...

The Band Perry

The Band Perry gets its name from the fact that all three of its members are siblings. There's Kimberly Perry, who sings lead, in addition to playing piano and guitar. Her brother Reid Perry is the bassist, while Neil Perry plays drums, mandolin and accordion. The centerpiece song of this five-track EP is the single If I Die Young, which is made all the more striking by the fact that it's also sung by a young lady. Being young is usually no time to contemplate death - leave that to the old folks. ...